Theme: Allow other artists to influence you while developing your own style. Learn to love your mistakes. Never tear or throw out a drawing. Draw in slow motion to capture extra details. Add colored pencil to watercolor for more depth & details.

Wow, where do I start?! Tommy Kane has been a huge inspiration through his dedication to the Sketchbook Skool students (literally commenting on every sketch & answering every question posted) and giving us permission to embrace our mistakes & unique styles. At first, I was very intimidated by his super detailed sketches as well as the complexity & time commitment of the homework assignment. In fact, I developed a case of “page fright” which resulted in a late start on my kitchen sketch (which I still haven’t painted…). Once I finally started my kitchen sketch, things were actually going smoothly to my surprise…a little too smoothly. I had a couple of hours under my belt, the sketch was getting more detailed by the minute, I was on a roll…& then it happened…I made a mistake. I forgot about the stove vent & I had already drawn the cabinet next to it. You know what happens next, right? Feelings of panic & discouragement started to bubble up inside me & I had the urge to quit…but I heard Tommy’s voice in my head telling me to love my mistakes so I kept going, and I’m so glad I did! I’ve spent a total of 6 hours on this sketch so far & I love it so much that I’m afraid to paint it now!

There was somewhat of a frenzy of Sketchbook Skool students drawing portraits of Tommy Kane just for fun. He fell in love with the portraits & requested more with a promise to feature the portraits in his next book! So, after overcoming another bout of “page fright”, I sketched my own rendition of Tommy & whisked it off to him!

My sketches for week #6:

Phase 1: Kitchen sketch after about 1 hour of sketching.

Phase 2: A little over 2 hours into my kitchen sketch! After the stove vent mistake…

Phase 3: I’ve clocked over 3 hours so far!

Phase 4: Calling it quits on the pen work after about 6 hours, I was starting to get kind of “fussy” with it. Hopefully I can start adding color soon. Starting to amaze myself…

My portrait practice page on the left & my finished Tommy Kane portrait on the right.

What’s your PSR (“Personal Sketching Record”)? I think mine is this 6 hour kitchen sketch! Do you have any tips to share about drawing portraits (I especially struggle with noses)?